They Were Once Elves
by CrystalFNfire
Summary: Orcs. What made them who they are? Mental or physical torture? Or is it something more? More importantly, can they be redeemed from the darkness?
1. The First Battle

**This was something that came to me as I lay in bed in one of my fits of insomnia. It will be quite short and probably end in three chapters. If you like it, please review!

* * *

**

They Were Once Elves

* * *

Trees.

They had surrounded us since nightfall. I could smell their sappy, sickeningly sweet scent without inhaling. The wind was blowing in our direction again. Marching through the lines, I scoped the environment around us, seeing if any others were drawing near.

Nothing.

The trees of Mirkwood and that of the Golden Wood were all I could see in the beautifully dark night. No moon rose, and I uttered an appreciative, soft laugh to the stars. The tiny glints could not hinder us. Tonight was our night. Blissful darkness could reign forever and I would never object.

Softly, our armors clinked as we marched, our faces masked by the blessed helms of the Shadow. My brothers and sisters surrounded me, weapons at their sides, ready to take on the world. No elves, men, or dwarves could defeat our forces tonight. Dol Guldur would rise as the capital of the Shadow once we were through.

Suddenly, I caught a scent.

Lifting my nose to the air, I sniffed, and drew back my head in revulsion. Another next to me spat on the ground in revulsion and continued to march. I knew that he had also smelled the fetid stink.

Elves.

The trees and eaves were squirming with masses of them. Like termites or sucking tapeworms, they infested the trees, squatting like the toads they were, waiting for a passing fly for a juicy meal. The others around me were already moving uneasily, loosening their weapons, large hands grasping for axes and swords. With clanks, shields were held tighter, as, though I am reluctant to say, the elves had a more than mediocre skill of aim. Long ago, I had learned that their yellow-feathered shafts were deadly.

"Hold the line," an officer snapped, and the stragglers got back into place. His thick Moria accent made me snarl. What was a pitiful creature from the mountains doing in the forest that was our domain? "Halt!"

I acquiesced, and strongly clad archers broke form the front lines to match the elven archers. As one, we drew our swords, cruelly curved at one end and long enough to gut our enemies without having to risk ourselves to be pitted by elven blades. With one of our swords embedded in flesh, it was nearly impossible to extract it without cutting open the entire wound.

As the tension of battle hung through the air, I smiled. This was what I lived for. War meant glory. But what was glory without a little fun?

As soon as the arrows began to fly, I gave a heart-chilling, full-blooded war cry of the Shadow. The entirety of Middle-Earth must have known of our arrival as my brothers and sisters joined me, thrusting their weapons in the air and surging forward.

My mail clanked as I ran, and together, we formed the army of the night.

Some of us fell under the deadly shafts of the elves, but more ran forth to take their places. Our hatred, our courage, and our unity must have been enough to knock the straw-headed demons off their high-strung bottoms.

In ecstasy, I reached the line of trees, unscathed, unharmed in any way, and ready to destroy those in my way. Likewise, a squadron of elves was waiting for us.

I laughed.

It took at least two elves to kill one of us, and this tiny, rag-tag army would not last more than an hour in combat. _Well, a skirmish never hurt anyone_, I thought, as I plunged my sword at the nearest blond body.

There was not a defense as I felt the satisfying crunch of bones beneath me. Ribs snapping, sternum cracking, and diaphragm shredding, the elf could not even cry out as he fell to the ground. Baring my teeth, I showed the savage what we did to those who opposed us. Slitting his throat, I laughed manically as warm liquid seeped through my fingers.

Bloodshed.

It could not be helped, and while it would have been more helpful to all of us if the elves surrendered instead of fighting back, there was no shame in admitting how I loved it. With each parry and blow, I felt new energy course through my veins. Victory was close enough for me to taste, and as the scent of copper filled the air, I threw back my head and howled in exhilaration.

The enemy was slowly receding, and, as I wiped my blade on the sticky grass, I gave another call for my brothers and sisters to join me. Blood had congealed on my hands, and I flexed, cracking dried blood and skin off of my fingers.

More fell by my sword.

I was indomitable!

This was better than taking any lover, for no carnal knowledge could produce as stunning a climax as I could with sword in hand. As I finished the last elf in my proximity, I saw the face of a tall, stern elf advancing. At that moment, we locked eyes, and I knew he must have been their leader. Blonde, like all the others, he nonetheless gave off the commanding, haughty air of a prince.

_Kill him_, a sly voice whispered, and I knew if I did, I would have glorious days ahead of me. But something more interesting suddenly crossed my mind.

Among the chaos and dying cries that formed a euphonious symphony, a darker, more cunning voice said, _No. Toy with him. Tickle him with a blade and see where on his body makes him scream loudest. _

Smiling, I stepped towards him, letting our bodies come closer.

In his hands, he held a bloodstained blade, at least half an arm's length shorter than mine. The dark showed me that it was blessed with elvish runes and symbols. I wanted to laugh again.

No elven gods or goddesses could protect him tonight.

With a cry, I attacked, swinging my weapon forward, ready for it to taste sweet, elven flesh. But the elf seemed to have more in him than I believed, for he parried my blow with a strong arm, and stepped forward for the advantage.

Snarling, I stepped back, giving way so as not to lose a limb and struck out again. It brought joy to me that he could fight. I had not had a good fight in a long time. I would toy with this elven princeling and make him beg for death.

Roaring in triumph as my sword lanced across his arm, showing bright red streaks in the grass, I continued to advance. "Give up now, elf," I laughed in the coarse Common Tongue, "and perhaps I will make your death less painful."

The haughty elf backed away at the deep cut, clutching his sword arm, but came back without a change in his features. "It is not I who will die at the end of this, _orch_," he spat back at me, and swung his blade skillfully, "but you!"

I scoffed at his boldness, and replied, "I like your spirit, elf. First I've seen in a long time that knows how to fight." I blocked his blow with some difficulty and smiled to myself. _Now this was what I had come for!_

His blade flashed across my knuckles and I hissed as I saw the deep scratch marks on my hands. In a flash of fury, I lunged forward with my blade and sank it deep into his belly. His eyes widened in pain and surprise, and I frowned as he let his weapon slip from his fingers. As he gasped, I brought my face close to his, "Pity. I wished to toy with you and break your ever-so-high spirit, elf. Seems my dreams are shattered."

He said nothing, his diaphragm obviously torn.

I spat in his face and drew my sword clean of him.

Just then, I heard a cry of pain come from behind me. Turning, I saw another elf, like of feature and skill as the other, running towards his fallen comrade. In a burst of emotion, he cried out, "Legolas!"

Something, suddenly, seemed to dislodge in me.

**TBC...**

* * *

**Please review!**


	2. Thranduil

**Chapter 2

* * *

**

**Thranduil**…

The battle was nearly over.

We had a sure victory, but I did not know how long we could keep up with these repeated attacks from Dol Guldur. There was something evil there, and it wanted the forest for its own. My supply of soldiers was not inexhaustible. I knew in my heart that I had to call together the White Council sooner or later.

Scanning the fire-lit battlegrounds of the Gladden Fields, I watched silently as the army finished off some of the remaining small bands of the Cursed Race. Orc bodies littered the grounds, but, I saw with anguish, many of my warriors lay near them.

"_Brannon nin_!" (**My Lord!**) a voice sounded from behind me, carrying me away from the macabre visions of death that should never plague any elf.

Turning at the urgency in it, I saw that the speaker and another elf was carrying a body between them. Another came up behind them, dragging the wriggling body of a wounded Orc.

I tensed at the sight of ruthless creature and asked, "What is it?"

The others did not have to answer me as I realized who they were carrying between them. My heart caught at my throat, forcing me to take in more air as I knelt, bringing a hand to the blood-matted head. "_Ion nin!_" (**My son!**)

"_Ada…_" (**Father.**)

A weak whisper escaped his lips, and tears sprung to my eyes as I realized he was not dead. With a quick scan, I saw that ruby liquid was seeping from beneath his breastplate, and hurriedly removed the light cloak covering his bottom half. At the sight of his gaping wound through the abdomen, I choked, but my head cleared.

"He can be saved!" I cried. "Take him to the healers!"

"My lord…" one of the elves started. I glared at him, threatening him to challenge me, and with a nod of his head, he acquiesced.

A cold hand was slowly covering my heart as I reared back, letting them take Legolas away from me. I closed my eyes and lowered my head, searching within me for the peace and patience that would keep me from screaming out my pains. It was something I had learned to do long ago.

A good ruler never showed his weaknesses.

I opened my eyes, and stared at the intricate ring that hung on a plain silver chain around my neck. Another stab of pain pierced my heart and I nearly fell, remembering. It had been a wedding gift from her… She should be wearing the other one. Where was she now?

There was no time to think about the past.

At this, I almost laughed. I was only immortal. I had all the time in the world.

Well, first, I had to deal with the wretched thing tied at the end of a leash, guarded by one of my soldiers. Looking up, I could see that he took no pleasure in it, and was trying to stand as far away from the thing as possible, while still holding onto the chain.

"I am assuming _this_ was the creature that wounded my son," I spoke, letting the creature here the steel in my voice as I spoke in the Common Tongue. I looked at the thing, and at that moment, it met my eyes.

I nearly staggered back.

The hate and fury in its eyes were so great that if there had not been a gag in its mouth, I was sure that it would have bitten me. It proved that these things had no hearts.

"Very well," I said quietly, kneeling to meet the thing's eyes. My loathing almost matched its. "We do not usually take prisoners of your kind, but I will make an exception. We must learn more of your master and what he is after." It roared at me through the gag, but made only a muffled sound that was laughable. "Take it back," I ordered the soldier. "And put it where it can see sunlight."

**TBC...

* * *

**

Thanks everyone for reviewing! If you like it, please review some more, and I will promise to keep this fic going! 


	3. Torture

**Thanks to all who have reviewed, and I do believe that I've replied to each and every single one of you. (If I haven't, email me like crazy and I will... :)**

**Oh, and sorry about the wait. I didn't know where I should go with this fic for awhile, but I've found my way, and I think it'll only be 5 chapters long. Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

**

Chapter 3

I hissed again as the sunlight streamed down in cursed lines through the dungeon bars, burning hot lines across my skin. Snarling, I tried once more to break free of the tight chains on my wrists and ankles, but the elvish iron kept me where I was.

Closing my eyes, I could still see the reddish glow through my eyelids as the afternoon sun streamed through the eaves of the forest and into the small cell. My head swam, leaving my mind nearly blank, erasing all thoughts.

Then, darkness descended again.

"What does Dol Guldur want?" the elf asked for what seemed like the tenth time. He had closed the peephole over the dungeon windows, letting blissful darkness settle in.

My tongue was heavy in my mouth and I swallowed twice to let the saliva flow again. "I have already told you!" I cried, frustrated. "I know nothing of this! Set me free!" There was not a chance of that. Once captured, an Orc like me had no chance whatsoever in an elven city.

Death was inevitable.

It was possibly what I deserved.

_You are worthless now. You belong to me. You are ugly, stupid, and disgusting. The world hates you. I hate you. You can never redeem your place unless you fight for me. Fight for me well, slaves. _

_Nothing comes without a price. _

And then the pain and torture…

Sunlight again flashed across my eyes, sending my thoughts scattering.

The dungeon door slammed, telling me another had entered. Low voices spoke quickly in the cursed Elven Tongue, and I was once more thrown into darkness. I dared to open my eyes to see the commotion.

Another of the blond creatures stood in front of me, a princely bearing around him. It was the king again. Silently, I laughed bitterly.

_He has come down to kill me himself_? I curled a lip dryly. _What had I done to deserve that honor_?

"It has refused to answer?" he asked.

His voice was cold, unfeeling, and yet, it seemed as if I had heard it somewhere before, though it must have been impossible.

**Thranduil**…

I still could not understand why I had decided to take the Orc as prisoner. It was true that it was important to know what the Darkness in the south was doing, but there were better ways than to question an unreliable and cowardly Orc. However, once tortured for long enough, they were willing to spill anything to save their own skin.

But there was something else…

I felt tightness across my chest, and my mind turned to my son. He was all I had left to call family. If he did not survive the night…

It would take more than the life of this Orc to pay for it.

Looking into the revolting face of the enemy, I found hatred, as I expected, and turned away with disgust. "It has refused to answer?" I asked needlessly to the guard. He nodded, and still not understanding why I did not kill the damned creature right now, I answered, "Put it on the torture wheel for a few hours. See if it does not talk then."

The guard's eyes widened, but he obeyed wordlessly.

I could comprehend why. The instrument had not been used in centuries, as we were not cruel to prisoners, but with Orcs, we were merciless. Before, I had never permitted one to enter my domain, but now that I had broken that unwritten law, it was time to tread over past lines and do what I had to.

I had to learn what I was facing. Legolas's life was hanging by a thread.

His mother's was long gone.

I owed them both that much.

I came out of the water, gasping. The elves had slung me to a wheel half dipped in salt water and as it spun, every part of my body that was wounded seemed to gape open with ragged pain.

To add to the torture, whips of metal were threatened.

Again, salt water.

Fire across my body.

Screaming, I felt shameless, answering their questions, unable to do anything else. I needed the pain to stop!

However, the spinning of the wheel did not stop.

My head was underwater again. I could not breathe. I had stopped trying to hold my breath a long time ago. I no longer had the strength. Death would be welcome.

Closing my eyes, I let water flow through my nostrils and down my windpipe…

**TBC...**

**

* * *

Again, thanks for reading, and please please please please review!**


	4. Remembering

**Thank you everyone that's been reviewing. I hope you enjoy this story!

* * *

**

Chapter 4

_A rough hand pulled my head out of the water. A deep, bass laughed in my ear, issuing breath that told of rotting gums. Again, my head was thrust deep into the cold river. _

"_Has Her Majesty drunk enough?" the voice sneered in the darkness, snatching my head back up again. _

_I could not speak. Humiliated and aching with pain, I fell where he laid me, sopping wet and cold in the cutting wind. Still, I did not know where I was. _

_I did not even know how I had gotten here. One moment, I was going to find my son's lost ball, and the next, I was being handled with rough arms and darkness engulfed. _

_Where was I? What creatures were these? _

The darkness shifted. Light once again emerged, but only dimly, and suddenly, I found myself chained, arms above me, a rough rock cutting into my back.

_Another sharp stab of pain crossed my chest as the whip landed again. Refusing to give in, I did not cry out, though I wanted to scream and alleviate the agony all over my body. Since I had been captured, I did not know what form of torture had not been done to me. _

_I knew everything._

_Hunger._

_Pain._

_Humiliation._

_Rape. _

_I was about to be proved wrong. _

"_Enough!" the sexless voice, devoid of all emotion, race, or identity, boomed. I had been listening to the same voice ever since I had come here. I had not eaten nor slept for what seemed like an age. I did not know how long I had stayed here. A few months, a few years, a few centuries? _

_I did not know. _

_My body was immortal, but was my mind?_

_I did not know. _

_I did not know anything._

"_Please," I tried feebly to form words through my cracked lips. My tired eyes would not close. There was some type of evil magic here that invaded her mind every time she tried to move her thoughts away from this accursed place. "Just a few minutes. Let me sleep." _

_Only cold laughter filled her ears._

"_You wish to sleep?" the words seared themselves into my memory. "You selfish bitch! You only wish to sleep when your family has been captured?" _

_I felt my heart stop as a lump formed in my throat. _My family… My husband and child… captured?

"_No!" _

"_Yes," the darkness issued forth. "Do you not want to know where they are?" _

"_Please," I begged. "Tell me. Are they alive? Don't do to them what you have done to me! Please, I beg of you!" _

_The voice gave a snort of contempt. "And what do you have that is so valuable that I should do as you wish?" _

_I felt tears rushing to my eyes and I held them down in silence. I could not let them see this weakness. I had given them everything. But I could not give them this. I could not let myself become so low as to be broken by them. _

But my family…

"_What is it you want from me?" I asked hollowly. _

_I could almost imagine my torturer smiling, pulling his cracking lips apart to show swollen gums and rotten teeth. I would have heaved, had I anything in my stomach. _

"_You have not betrayed them." _

"_What do you mean?" I asked. I had revealed everything I knew about my family and their position to them. Through the endless days of torture and hunger, there was nothing I could have done but told _them_ everything. _

_But deep down, I knew. _

_I still loved them. _

_They were my heart and soul. They could not take that away…_

_Could they? _

_The voice laughed again. Suddenly, from the darkness, I heard the most dreaded sound I could imagine. _

_Hard, cold, skeletal legs brushed the hard stones, clicking and snapping as they moved forward. In an instant, they were on me, their exoskeletons gleaming from an unknown source of light. _

_Mandibles parted and eyes grouped in eights stared down at me. _

_My heart quickened, and I could not suppress the scream that formed in my throat. "Oh, Valar, no!" _

_The giant spiders native to the south of my land stared down at me. Fat, with their hairy bodies glistening, I knew that they were well fed and possibly kept as pets. They knew no mercy, and though I was never one to be squeamish around insects or spiders, these terrified me. _

_My breath came raggedly, and I tried to move my broken body out of their way. Slowly but surely, they advanced. I could hear nothing. Blood rushed through my ears as I tried not to scream again. _

_Nothing could have been more cruel._

"_You know," the sexless voice came again. "The spiders of Mirkwood always enjoy a tasty snack now and then. Of course, they don't eat their prey right away. They like to play with them. First, they paralyze them." _

_One of the many spiders jabbed its stinger at me and screaming, I pulled away, ignoring the pain in my broken arm. _

"_Then, they wrap them in their web." _

_I felt the sticky substance on my leg. Sticky and slimy, it wormed its way around my waist so that I was held down to the stone. _

"_Valar, no!" I cried. _

"_Slowly, very slowly, they suck out the juices and leave the core intact. I have heard it's a most painful experience." _

_I could not take it anymore. All around me, their legs ticked on the stone, sending my mind whirling into nausea. My arms grew chill and sweat beads dripped from my face. Tied down, I was unable to wipe the sweat and tears from my eyes. Slowly, my dim vision dimmed still more. _

"_Don't do it to me!" I cried, meaning every word with my heart. Suddenly, I knew what I had to do. There was no way out except one. "Don't do it to me! Do it to my husband! Do it to my child! I don't care! Don't hurt me!" _

_Silence. _

_Then, "Granted," the voice said. _

_In an instant, the spiders withdrew. _

_Only then, did I realize what I had done. "No," I breathed. "I didn't mean it! Don't do it to them! Please!" _

_But what was done could not be undone. I felt a chill run down my spine and suddenly, I was seized with a pain so severe that it made the torture I had gone through in the past seem like child's play. Screaming in agony, I felt slow fire crawl from my spinal cord all around my body, devouring me. What clothes I had left shredded around me, and I cried out again as my fingers began to blister and bleed. _

"_What is happening to me?" tears rolled down my cheeks, hissing as they touched the internal fire that was burning around me. _

"_You, My Lady, have forsaken everything and everyone you love," the voice said evenly. "Elves are of the light. They love. They care. But you do not, so therefore, you are no longer an elf." _

_I bit my lip as the fire crept over my face, and I felt the heat around my eyes, cutting, burning, and ruining my skin. It ran across my head, and I smelled my own hair sizzling as locks fell to the ground around me. I couldn't take it anymore, and screamed, opening my mouth and letting the flame inside of me. _

_My heart stopped._

_The flames seared into my throat, and I breathed raggedly, craving water. _

"_Your heart is black as sin," it told me. "You are now a creature of the darkness. You have no beauty. The Valar made sure of that."_

"_What am I?" I asked, and screamed at the change in my voice. I no longer sounded like me. My voice was torn, aged by the torture and flames. It sounded as if a thousand nails were being driven into the ground and I had swallowed them all. _

"_You, My Lady, are an Orc." _

NO!

* * *

_Green eaves. _

_The sunlight was dancing merrily down through ceiling of vines, playing intricate designs upon the marble floor. It did not burn, but simply warmed, licking at the smooth ground and the few wooden ornaments and seats that decorated the room. _

_It was familiar. _

_Happy. _

_Laughter came ringing from my left, and I turned my head, following it. The sound brought me indescribable joy, and I could not help but want to join in. Lightly, I got to my feet from the soft linens of the couch, the dark green silk gown straightening as it flowed down my legs. _

_My toes tingled as they touched the cool marble floor in the shade, and treading softly, I smiled as I made for the door, which was slightly ajar, leading to my husband's room. Pushing open the door, I looked in to find a heart-warming sight. _

_My husband, usually careworn and cold from his duties of the day, was showing a softer side. In his arms, our child dangled, vulnerable and trusting in his large hands. In both their faces were etched the signs of enjoyment in the other's company. My son, only two and still unstable on his feet, held out his feathery little hands as he squealed with delight at the thrilling height he was at. His blue eyes, mirroring his father's, were full of innocence. _

_Still smiling, I stepped in quietly, not wanting to disturb this peaceful time between father and son. _

_My husband turned as he heard me, bringing our child protectively to his chest. I approached him, and our son laughed again, holding out his chubby fingers to me. _

_His father moved him higher onto the crook of his elbow, and drew an arm around my shoulders, crushing me to his chest. I breathed in deeply, inhaling his sweet scent of fresh leaves and fruit. Though I had lived in these forests all my life, I could never figure out which specific leaf and fruit. _

_He had always been that to me: a sweet, mysterious man that held all of my love. _

_I embraced him around the waist, and for a minute, we just stood there, a loving family._

_Happiness.

* * *

_

"You, My Lady, are an Orc," the voice resounded again.

NO!

I remembered! I knew! I didn't have to be this any longer!

RELEASE ME PLEASE!

**TBC...**

**

* * *

Please wait patiently for the next installment, and if you liked it or didn't like it, please review. I know that this is a little confusing, but it will all come together in the next and final chapter!**


	5. A Symbol of Love

**Huzzah! Sorry to keep everyone waiting, but I went to CETA in Fontana over the weekend and didn't have time to write before that. Well, I finally got around to updating the last installment of this fic, so here it is!

* * *

**

Chapter 5

RELEASE ME PLEASE!

"I've returned to the light. I love. I care. I am an elf! Help me, Valar!" 

_That cold laughter again. _

"_No, My Lady. You can never return from the darkness." _

I opened my eyes as the water dripped from me. Salt spattered my wounds and I nearly screamed again at the pain. My vision blurred, I looked at my torturer. He was a tall elf, slender, like a young tree.

His eyes were full of disgust.

But then, if I was in his place, I would have been disgusted too. This was what I had become. But if I could show them that I had compassion, that I was not the lawless, cowardly Orc I had been, they must be able to realize who I had been…

Who I _was_.

And my husband…

I lowered my gaze, tucking my chin into my chest so that I would not have to look at the way the elf was staring at me.

It was then that I saw the small glint of silver around my neck.

The water must have washed it free from the mud I had put on myself before the battle to blend in with the night.

Memories again stirred within me, and I moved slightly, exposing more of the silvery chain. A beautiful ring stared back at me. Not silver, like the chain, but much more valuable. _Mithril_.

My husband had given it to me on our wedding night. I had to tell him…

Remembering, tears came.

"What has the Shadow commanded you to do? What is its purpose in Dol Guldur?" the familiar question asked harshly in a familiar voice aroused me from my daydreams, and I looked up again.

Thranduil had ventured into the dungeons again. He had come to see me again. Perhaps he felt some connection…?

His handsome features still stunned me after what seemed like an age, and I knew that our son must have been grown by now. I tried to open my mouth, but the salt and the dryness stopped my jaw muscles from working, and with pain in my heart, I saw the look of hatred in my husband's eyes.

I could not answer.

A rising rage formed in his eyes, and as I tried as hard as I could to explain what had happened… everything that had happened to me, to us… he grabbed me by the collar, nearly wrenching me from the torture wheel, and screamed, "Damn you, you vile creature! My son is near death, and still you do not answer!"

Only then, did I understand.

"Your… son?" the words choked themselves from my lips before I even realized I had spoken them. In the woods, under the influence of war and pain, I had, without knowing, harmed my only flesh and blood.

I had driven my sword through his stomach. The elf that had appeared so tall and commanding… it was my son. Gathering up the brief memories I had of him on the dark battlefield, like cupping water in my bare hands, I recalled his face.

So handsome… like his father…

And I had wounded him.

Perhaps even killed him.

From this, I looked again into my husband's eyes, saw the hatred, anger, and pain there, and once again, turned away to my battered body.

"_No, My Lady. You can never return from the darkness."_

The words echoed through me, resounding into the very depths of my dark, damned soul, invading what was left of my heart.

What good would it do to tell them that this was me? That I had been ravaged by Orcs then tortured and brought so close to the edges of death that this torture with the elves seemed nothing in comparison? That I was forever in this horrid and disgusting body? That I could turn, if not now, then in a year, a century, a millennium, back to the vile thing I had been?

Better to let them believe that I was dead and this thing that they were torturing now was just another foul creature…right?

* * *

**Thranduil…**

Frustration tore through me as I realized that no matter how much I threatened this Orc, it would never tell me the truth. Perhaps they had some sense of bravery or courage that I had never known, or perhaps this thing just did not know.

It did not matter to me anymore.

My son was waiting, perhaps at the end of his life, and I could not waste anymore of the precious time I had left with him on an Orc. It was time to put the damned thing out of its misery.

As it looked at me with its clouded eyes of darkness, I turned away, hating death, and yet, happy to administer it where it was deserved. "Execute it," I breathed the words through gritted teeth to the prison-ward. "I have no more use of it."

Making for the door, I heard the assent from the subject, and the clash of metal as he drew a blade from his large inventory. Like all executions, it would be quick and painless, and nothing would be remembered except that I had taken an Orc into question.

It was the way it was supposed to be, and yet… I could not bear to look at the death, though I had seen so many worse in my lifetime.

As the sickening cracks of blade cutting through skin, muscle, artery, and bone came, I felt bile reach the back of my throat, and in surprise, I swallowed.

A weak stomach was for humans. An immortal never knew the ailments of illness and nausea.

I turned again, facing the headless body of the Orc on the torture wheel, crimson mixed with the clear water of the river, and my stomach churned once more. Closing my eyes, I brought my head down, and opened them again, looking at the dirt floor where the immobile, ugly head now lay.

Dark pools of ruby were already feeding the hungry pockets of earth. The head lay on its side, the face towards the left, and the top of the head towards me. With a strange, dark fascination, I stared, unable to turn my head away from grotesque spectacle. It was then I felt something within me wither and die, and my breath caught my throat.

A glint on the floor, nearly drowned in the sea of vermilion caught my eye then, and I bent down, shifting the sticky river of blood with the mud, and clutching the tiny silver chain that was buried in it.

It had fallen from the Orc's neck, and as I put it to the light, my throat and stomach tightened as I fought to breathe. Unknown wells of water pooled over my eyes and fell, unable to contain itself.

A single _mithril_ ring dangled at the end of the chain, exactly the same as the one I wore around my neck. It shone, no less bright than it had been so long ago on our marriage night. For years, I had searched in vain for it, hoping to find it again for some trace of _her_, and yet, to no avail. Now here, where I had least expected it…

I looked again to the severed head on the ground._ Could it be…?_

No.

It was ridiculous. She was dead. She had been for a very long time. A creature much like this one must have seized it as part of its spoils and through other ungainly acts, it had reached this creature. That was the only logical explanation.

The irony of the fact was staring me in the face, and I had almost taken the other route through blindness.

Fate had a cruel way of playing tricks on one.

I turned to go back to my son, still in the healing ward, but my eyes fell on the chain around my own neck.

It could not be.

And yet, as more tears formed behind my eyes, I could not help but think, _What if? _

**THE END**

**

* * *

**

This story has taken about a month to write, but actually, it popped into my head in about two seconds when I was in bed one night. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed and given me critiques and advice about writing. Also, thanks to the 23 people that put me on their fave author's list and the 18 that put me on their author alert list.

Thanks so much, and a very big cyber hug to Syen for being so funny and a great internet buddy!


End file.
